document resume ed 372 829 · document resume. ed 372 829 ps 022 375. author goetz, kathy, ed....

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 372 829 PS 022 375

AUTHOR Goetz, Kathy, Ed.TITLE Creating New Schools: Planning and Implementation

Guide for School-Based Comprehensive CollaborativeServices Programs.

INSTITUTION Family Resource Coalition, Chicago, IL.; NationalResource Center for Family Support Programs, Chicago,IL.

SPONS AGENCY Annie E. Casey Foundation, Greenwich, CT.; Departmentof health and Human Services, tiashington, D.C.; JohnD. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago,IL.

PUB DATE 93CONTRACT 90-CJ-0960NOTE 47p.

AVAILABLE FROM Family Resource Coalition, 200 South Michigan Avenue,Suite 1520, Chicago, IL 60604.

PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom Use (055)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Community Programs; *Cooperative Programs; *Family

Programs; Program Development; ProgramImplementation; *School Community Relationship;*Youth Yrograms

IDENTIFIERS *Family Resource and Support Programs; FamilySupport; *School Based Services

ABSTRACTApplicable to any school district or school

interested in starting a family resource and support program, thisguide provides help for both planning and implementation of familyresource and youth services centers. It outlines the philosophybehind family resource and youth services centers and how thatphilosophy is to be reflected in all aspects of the program. Theguide is not intended to prescribe any particular program model orthe unique methods of planning, designing, financing, or evaluationof each center. Rather, planners are expected to be creative andinnovative, using the ideas contained in the guide as springboardsfor their own thinking. Program flexibility at the local level and anemphasis on encouraging new ideas that emerge_from the peopleparticipating in the centers are the hallmarks of the family supportmovement throughout the country. Following an introduction, thephilosophy of family resource and youth services centers isdiscussed. A section on center planning outlines the following eightsteps: (1) establishing an advisory council; (2) completing aneeds/resources assessment; (3) determining rationale, missions,goals, and objectives; (4) designing a program; (5) assuringsuccessful operations; (6) clarifying the oversight process; (7)

thinking about the budget; and (8) planning for appropriateevaluation. Four appendices contain a statement of the premises,principles, and practices of family resource programs; a statement ofprogram goals; an annotated bibliography of 33 items; and a sampleworkplan. (TJQ)

U.S. DEPARTNENT Of EDUCATiONOffice or Educatqoal Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

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CREATING NEW SCHOOLS

Planning and imptementation Guidefor School-Based ComprehensiveCollaborative Services Programs

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THISMATERIAL. HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."

2BEST COPY AVAILABLE

Sp Table of Contents

About the Family Resource Coalition ii

Acknowledgments iii

Background on this Guide iv

Introduction 1

Philosophy of Family Resource and Youth Services Centers 3

Planning a Center 5

Establishing an Advisory Council 6

Completing a Community Needs/Resources Assessment 7

Determining Rationale and Mission 9

Designing the Program 11

Assuring Successful Operations 20

Clarifying the Oversight Process 24

Thinking about the Budget 26

Evaluation Strategies 28

Some Final Thoughts 30

Appendix A: Premises, Principles, and Practicesof Family Resource Programs 31

Appendix B: Goals 34

Appendix C: Bibliography 35

Appendix D: Sample Workplan 41

Creating New Schools

3

,Nit\j/ About the Family Resource

Coalition

The Family Resource Coalition is the central source for leadership andinformation in the family support field. It develops resources for familysupport programs, provides information for formulating public policies,and documents activities and outcomes of current work in the field.Coalition services and activities include:

consulting, technical assistance, and training services for programs,schools, and government;

working in the ioublic policy arena to communicate relevant issuesand concerns of those in the family support field and to educateleaders about the principles, successes, and promises of the familysupport approach;providing leadership at the national level to plan strategy and theallocation of resources for continued growth of the field;

publishiAg the FRC Report, a quarterly devoted to family supportissues and the FRC Connection, a networking newsletter for Coalitionmembers, and other manuals, monographs, and books for familysupport professionals.

sponsoring a national conference on family support issues.

The National Resource Center for Family Support Programs, a division ofthe Family Resource Coalition, is charged with identifying and developingquality resource materials on programs. Further duties of the NRC are to:

make available state-of-the-art knowledge on program design,administration, staffing, and financing;

enhance information flow, networking, and collaboration amongprograms;track federal, state, and local policy initiatives;

l'nk family support to other services for families and children;

create a technical assistance network of experts and d. ver technicalassistance services.

Among dr.: products being developed by the NRC are a computerizeddatabase and retrieval system, an annual inventory of state initiatives,bibliographies on major topics, technical assistance resource papers, andother publications.

Family Resource Coalition

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this planning and implementation guide was made possibleby the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T.MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Four iation, and the U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services under grant 90-CJ-0960 for the NationalResource Center for Family Support Programs. The Family ResourceCoalition is grateful for their support for this project and their continuedinterest in programs which strengthen families.

Creating New Schools iii

iv

Background on this Guide

This guide is designed to be used in both the planning and implementa-tion of family resource and youth services centers. An earlier version ofthis manual was produced for the Kentucky Interagency Task Force onFamily Resource and Youth Services Centers with funding from theAnnie E. Casey Foundation. It has since been revised to be applicable toany school district or school interested in starting a family resource andsupport program.

This guide outlines the philosophy behind family resource andyouth services centers and how that philosophy is to be reflected allaspects of the program. It is not intended to prescribe any part' Aarprogram model or the unique methods of planning, designing, financing,or evaluating each center..Planners are expected to be creative and inno-vative, using the ideas contained here as springboards for their ownthinking. Program flexibility at the local level and an emphasis on encour-aging new ideas that emerge from the people participating in the centersare hallmarks of the family support movement throughout the country.

There is currently a tremendous amount of information beingpublished on school-based family support programs. Appendix C con-tains a relevant bibliography.

Some of the information here is drawn from three Coalition publica-tions: Programs to Strengthen Families, a directory of many different familyresource programs around the country; Family Resource Program Builder, acomplete blueprint for designing and operating programs for parents;and Building Strong Foundations, which contains full explanations ofevaluation strategies including sample data collection forms. Each bookcontains many specific examples and listings of additional resources forparticular program componEnLs and issues that have been part of otherfamily resource and support programs.

A complete publications list and order form can be obtained bywriting the Family Resource Coalition, 200 S. Michigan Avenue, Suite1520, Chicago IL 60604.


ittl Introduction

For the past thirty years, research into children's educational achievementhas shown that certain behaviors of the child's family are the most accu-rate predictors of the child's ultimate educational achievement. Years ago,the occupation of the child's father was the best predictor; more recently,other factors, such as the mother's educational status and the number oftimes a child changes schools have also proven to be effective predictors.So, by itself, even the best school can have only limited influence on thechild's achievement. However, it seems that a strong family life andparents' positive attitudes toward school and involvement in the educa-tional process of their children encourage students' academic success.Therefore, by reaching out to and engaging parents, and creating aneffective partnership with families, school districts can hope to boostacademic outcomes for students.

Programs for families and parents designed to promote a child'ssuccess in school are developing at a rapid pace across the country.School-based or school-linked programs tend to fall into three majorcategories:

1) School-readiness programs These programs emphasize using theearly years in a child's development to prepare the child for successin school and to involve parents in preparing their children forschool. School readiness programs provide services primarily tomother and child, often when the child ls an infant. Some programsare designed to provide services on a one-to-one basis in the family'shomesuch as the Parents as Teachers Program in Missouri. Othersemphasize early childhood, center-based programming, such asFamily and Child Development Centers operating in all schooldistricts in Minnesota.

2) Parent involvement programs While parent involvement pro-grams have existed in many schools for years, the PTA being the bestknown, current parent involvement initiatives are based on theconcept of a partnership, recognizing that both families and schoolscontribute to the educational process. Moving beyond traditionalparent involvement activities, such as attending parent-teacherconferences and monitoring children's homework, these new pro-grams may involve parents more actively in the classroom asteacher's aides, and in school management in areas of curriculum

Creating New Schools 1

review and school policy decisions. TheSchool Development Program, devel-oped by Dr. James Corner of the YaleChild Study Center, is an example of ahighly successful program of thisnature.

3) Comprehensive collaborative servicesprogramsIn these programs, schoolsserve as a focal point for the provisionof other community-based services forfamilies. Services are provided tochildren and their families through acollaboration among schools, health-care providers, and other local socialservice agencies. In this model, theschools are among the central partici-pants in planning and governing thecollaborative effort. Services may beprovided at the school or at a site nearthe school.

The programs discussed in this volume,family resource and youth services centers,are comprehensive collaborative servicesprograms. The success of these programsappears to lie in each program's uniqueness:their tangible "ownership" by the peoplewho participate in them, their consistencywith values and opinions in the communitieswhere programs operate, and their ability todraw upon and innovatively utilize availablecommunity resources.

Family resource and youth servicescenters are not just another social service oranother school program designed for "prob-lem" children. They represent a new ap-proach to service collaboration which com-bines the resources inherent in each familyand the exi5ting services in a community,including school resources, in an intentional,carefully designed plan to enhance andfacilitate the relationships among thesepotential supporters of children in theirschool life. The result should be a holisticsupport system that will empower childrento succeed in school, and their families toassist them in the best possible way.

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Experiences from existing programsindicate that there are several elementscrucial to insuring the long-term success of acommunity-based family resource or youthservices program. Successful plans for newfamily resource programs and youth servicescenters ustially include the following ap-proaches:

understanding the basic principlesbehind this kind of program andapplying them in all aspects of programplanning and implementation;

planning a program with broad com-munity involvement and particularinput from potential program partici-pants;

designing a program responsive to thcommunity-identified needs whichemerge from the planning process andto the total resources available in thecommunity;

proposing a realistic evaluation strategythat will aid in the long-term evolutionof an effective program; and

planning from the beginning forchanges in the program that inevitablyoccur when participants have a largevoice in its governance.

Family resource and youth servicescenters may not be able to pay for everyservice that families and children mightneed. Centerv should, however, provide anenvironment that will address children'sneeds in a unified way, increase the families'capacity to support their children in school,and creatively involve other available re-sources, public and private, in support offamilies and children. Collaboration amongpublicly funded services at the local commu-nity level is essential for these programs towork effectively.


Philosophy of Family Resourceand Youth Services Centers

Family resource programs and youth services centers represent a majordeparture from the traditional services provided by schools and humanservice agencies. They talce a holistic approach to coordinating support forchildren and families, increasing the potential for school success. They aimto facilitate a child's strong, nurturing relationship with an adult, usually aparent, in order to foster the child's self-esteem and encourage his or hersuccess.

This approach is based on research findings which consistently showthat the presence of such a relationship is an important contributing factorto a child's success in school. Working with parents in family resourcecenters, and with teens and their families in youth services centers, theprograms coordinate and enhance families' capacities to support theirchildren.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Three basic elements distinguish family resource and youth servicescenters from other approaches:

1) the nature of the relationship between the program and the familiesor students they serve;

2) the intentional coordinating and blending of different services, bothpublic and private; and

3) a reliance on the resources of the participants themselves.

First, the relationship between program and participantis the mostimportant element in the program. It is a relationship characterized byequality and respect. In contrast to school, where attendance is compul-sory, participation in these programs is voluntary. Unlike most publiclyfunded services, participants do not need to have a problem to be eligiblefor services. It is the program's obligation to be accessible, relevant, cultur-ally competent, and sufficiently attractive to establish a productive part-nership with tile intended paAicipants. This relationship,is the vehiclethrough which the program's goals are accomplished.

Second, family resource and youth services centers view everyresource available in a community as part of their programs and activelyseek ways to gain access to them, often in non-traditional ways. Centers

9Creating New Schools 3

start with a familys needs, then find and fitservices to meet those needs instead of theother way around. Obviously, not everycenter will have the funding to provide aluxurious array of professional services forevery family, free of charge. Bur& a mini-mum, centers are a comprehensive source ofinformation and support to families aboutservices and other support available in theircommunities. At the most complex level,centers will coordinate services in a varietyof ways, from serving as initial advocates fortheir families to having all services providedon-site with planning and staffing done byan interdisciplinary consortium of agencies.

Third, family resource and youthservices centers assume that the people in theprogram are its most valuable resource, anddesign programs arour that assumption.Even the terminology of "participant' ratherthan "client," "case," or "referral" reflects theexpectation that services are not a one-waystreet. Families represent the best possiblepotential support for their children, as well asthe potential to become resources for otherfamilies through the networks that developin the centers. Teens can grow and supporteach other in a conducive atmosphere.

Differences between FamilyResource and Youth ServlcesCenters

For older children, families begin to play amore peripheral role in decision-making andcontrol, a transition that is often difficult forboth parent and teen. By the time they are inhigh school, teenagers have already begun tomake decisions on their own. They arecapable of ci eating and using their ownsupport networks and services, as well as ofmaking decisions with negative conse-quences. The youth services center mustrespond both to the teens themselvesestablishing relationships that promotegrowth and development and create effectiveconnections with community serviceand tothe parents of teens, establishing relation-

ships that enable parents to support theirteens as well as they can.

New and Not So New

The philosophy behind these new kinds ofprograms is a very old-fashioned one. Whatthese programs are supposed to do for theirparticipants is the same thing that once wasdone by extended families and networks ofkindly neighbors and churches in smalltowns: they are supposed to care whathappens to people and help them get whatthey need when they need it. Like the best oftheir predecessors, the centers will notalways have all the resources every familyneeds. But they will always attempt toprovide sympathy and support, and to pointa student or a family in the right direction forassistance elsewhere. In the old-fashionedsystem, no on a demanded that a referral slipbe produced, or examined whether someonewas eligible for assistance, or assumed thatsomeone who needed momentary help had apermanent problem. In return, those whoreceived help were expected to contributewhat they could back into the system,helping someone else when the time came.They were recognized as invaluable re-sources for themselves and for others.

That idealized system of old-fashionedhelp is hard to find these days, and can beespecially absent in communities hard hit byeconomic adversity. Family resource andyouth services centers are an attempt to re-create some aspects of the old ways: a warmand welcoming atmosphere respectful of thepeople who participate, a common-senseapproach to families' overall needs, a usefulpoint of access to all the resources availablefor families and students in a community,and an expectation that the participants inthe program can be its greatest resource.

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ti44*\ Planning a Center

This guide is designed to help planners through the stages to a fullyformed center plan. It is important to define the steps involved in theactual process of planning a center. They will usually occur in the follow-ing order:

1. Establishing an Advisory Council

2. Completing a Needs/Resources Assessment

3. Determining Rationale, Missions, Goals, and Objectives

4. Designing the Program

5. Assuring Successful Operations

Information Dissemination

Training

Parental Consent and Confidentiality

Involving Families

Minimizing Stigma

6. Clarifying the Oversight Processs

Advisory Council Role

Representatives to the Advisory Council

Relationships with Local Board of Education

7. Thinking about the Budget

Public and Private Resources

8. Evaluation Strategies

Year-End Evaluation

Data Collection for Evaluation

Revisiting Last Year's Plan

iiCreating New Schools 5

1. Establishing an Advisory Council

Community involvement, especially involve-ment of the targeted participants in thecenter, is essential from the very beginning ifthe program is to succeed. A family resourceprogram designed by a clever grant-writerwithout the substantial, meaningilil partici-pation of ALL potential partnersparents,school personnel, private agencies, and stateagency personnelfrom the outset has neverbeen known to succeed. An advisory councilshould be assembled at the very beginning ofthe planning process. (See more on advisorycouncils in the Clarifying Oversight section.)

Two categories of representativesdeserve note and should have special out-reach devoted to their participation: low-income parents and youth targeted by thecenter, and those serviCe providers who willbe directly involved with families using thecenter, including school personnel. Meaning-ful input from school professionals andservice providers who will ultimately beexpected to collaborate with the centerchould go beyond written agreements andinformational meetings to hands-on planningand decision-making whenever possible.

Direct participation as a member of theadvisory council is only one way to gainmeaningful input from these essentialpeople. Planners should use all possiblemeans to insure maximum participationduring the design phase. Focus groups,surveys, and interviews are additionaltechniques which can elicit input frompeople not on the council.

In many cases, the very parents andyouth whom the centers are designed toserve are the most reluctant to be involvedwith the school in any way. Creative waysshould be sought to connect with hard-to-reach parents and children for input during

6

the planning process, to achieve the commu-nity involvement needed for the center to besuccessful.

For example: An advisory council couldinvite 15 students who dropped out ofschool during the past year to have pizzawith the council and critique the plans forin-school job counseling or other activitiesdesigned to help keep students in school.Would such activities have made anydifference to these students? What wouldbe the most effective way to carry themout? Are there other methods that thedrop-outs think would be better? Why?

For example: A social worker or teachercould visit five parents who had not beenin touch with the school in the past twoyears and survey their needs for childcare,better communication with the school, orother services a family resource centermight provide. The purpose of these homevisits would be to assesss why thesefamilies have not been in touch with theschool and what strategies might attractthem to participate in a family resourcecenter or other services they need.

12Family Resource Coalition

2. Completing a Needs/Resources Assessment

Planning for any endeavor, including familyresource and youth services centers, involvesasking at least two questions: What prob-lems should we be trying to solve? Whatcurrent resources are available for solvingthem? Those planning family resource andyouth services centers need to ask an addi-tional question: Is there a better way to usethe available resources to solve the problems?

The first step is assembling availableinformation. School districts are likely tohave current information on school-relatedissues and some aggregate data on thestudents and families enrolled in the school,and this information should be made avail-able to the advisory council. Planners shouldalso investigate additional demographic dataand information-on social indicators such asunemployment, drug abuse, homelessness,crime rates, divorces and child abuse cases,and any other information that is deemed tobe important in the particular communitythey serve. Statistics broken down by race orincome level may tell a different story thanthe overall numbers. Information may beavailable from a variety of sources: censusdata, state agency statistics, local governmentdata collection, and private agency surveys.

For example: Interviewing severalfamilies who are potential users of the*center, especially those known to havecontact with a variety of service systems ina community, will contribute to a totalpicture of community needs. Gatheringinformation from a family's perspective,especially a family with many needs, willhelp to identify problems and gaps inservices, not be apparent from an initialassessment of resources.


The second step in the needs/resourceassessment process is to doctnuent theavailable community resources, both publicand private. The first priority is documentingthe existence of program components thatare currently operating in the community.Establishing relationships early with the staffin these programs is also essential; they maybe helpful in the overall planning processand they will certainly play a role in theeventual success of the center. They mayhave gathered other information in thecourse of their activities that can be helpful tothe center's plans. Understanding theirapproaches and methods of operation isimportant for planning appropriate linkagesbetween them and the family resource andyouth services center.

The second priority is locating andassessing the other publicly funded servicesavailable to children and families in yourcommunity. The local school (especially thesocial worker, guidance counselor or otherschool personnel who are responsible forcontacting other agencies) is a good place tostart in locating the key local contacts forthese services.

Be sure to make a realistic assessment ofhow well these services are meeting theneeds that already exist in your community.For example, it is not sufficient to know thatjuvenile justice diversion services are pro-vided in your county. You need to knowhow many youth and families are currentlybeing served, what the caseloads are, whatthe maximum caseloads should be, andwhether or not it is realistic to assume thatany additional assistance for the center couldcome from this source. If that system isalready seriously overloaded in your com-munity, the family resource or youth servicescenters are likely to run into problems in

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referring families to that service, and youthand families are not likely to be able to getthe help they need in a timely way. Theseissues need to be considered in the initialplanning so that unexpected surprises don'toccur later in the process.

For example: If the resOurce assessmentindicates that there are childcare slotsavailable but unused, further investigationshould find out why: Is the quality poor?Is the eligibility too complicated? Istransportation available? If the assessmentshows many drug abuse programs butonly a few participants, there may be amismatch of program to need, not a lackof need. Input from targeted centerparticipants and families most in needshould be solicited through any availablemeans (surveys, focus groups, interviews,home visits) if the information collectedby other means does not parallel the needsexpressed by parents and youth.

The third priority is documenting thewide variety of private resources in thecommunity that already prav de a range ofsupportive services for children and familiesor would have the potential to provideadditional supports. These resources areinvaluable to families in the community andshould be formally linked with familyresource or youth services center. Informalnetworks of parents, parent educationgroups, child abuse prevention councils,substance abuse prevention networks, andother resources that exist outside formalorganizations should also be included. Theyrepresent additional sources of support andinformation for families, and may be exactlythe resources many families need most.

Then comes the most complicated partof the process: analyzing the information andforging a consensus among Advisory Coun-cil members about the needs to be met by acenter. More information from particularsegments of the community, especiallyfamilies most in need, may be needed tocomplete the picture at this stage.

Once a center gets started, the needs/resources process should continue, with thecenter's advisory council collecting newinformation as it becomes available in thecommunity. This ongoing assessment shouldcontinue to guide the development of thecenter as the workplan unfolds and adjust-ments need to be made. A continuousprocess will make it easier to document thechanges that each succeeding year's planshould include.

148 Family Resource Coalition

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3. Determining Rationale, Mission,, Goals, and Objectives

Once the needs/resources assessment iscompleted, and a clear picture of the needs tobe addressed by the center has emerged, theadvisory council should agree on a writtenrationale for the center they envision. Therationale statement should answer thequestion of WHY? Why does your commu-nity need this program? Why are the specificproblems you hope to solve best solvedthrough a family resource and youth servicecenter strategy? Why are the identifiedproblems not being adequately addressedthrough the existing community resources?

The mission statement for the centershould answer the question of WHAT? Whatis the unique role of the far resource oryouth services center in your community asit relates to other services for families? Whatis the vision for the center as it develops?What do you hope to accomplish by havingthe center in your community?

These statements are important for thecenter's successful establishment and devel-opment. They should emerge from a consen-sus of the people guiding the planning andimplementation process and should guidecenter decisions from this point forward.Every program decision should be madefrom the standpoint of WHY ARE WEMAKING THIS CHOICE? and WHAT DOWE REALLY HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH?When a sticking point emerges in the pro-gram design or in constructing a budget tosupport it, it will be valuable to refer back tothe rationale and the mission.

Once the overall rationale and missionare determined, the next step is to translatethose general statements into specific goalsand objectives for the center workplan. A listof suggested goals for family resource andyouth services centers is included in thismanual. (Appendix B) Planners should use


or change these goals or articulate new onesbased on the needs assessment for their localcommunities. In developing the workplan,listings from the needs assessment should beconnected to each goal adopted by the center.

Programs should be expected to growand change over time as the relationshipsbehind them evolve. The goals and objectivescalled for in the workplan should reflect anunderstanding of the developmental nature ofthe program and should take into consider-ation that developing effective working rela-tionships with families and with other serviceproviders takes time.

Objectilies should also reflect the pro-grammatic tension that will exist as centersattempt to create a welcoming environmentand common activities for all families while atthe same time devising effective methods toreach families who are not likely to initiatecontact with the center. Most centers willoperate with the assumption that children,youth and families whose needs are mosturgent will be the top priority. The center'sobjectives should reflect how the describedpriority will be put into practice in the center.

For example: A long-term objective mightbe to have 50 families participate in anactivity of the family'resource centerweek-ly, but a realistic initial objective might beto attract 50 families to come to the centerat least once during the first six months, orto get five families who have never come toa school event to attend at least one. (Theeffort expended to get five hard-to-reachfamilies may vastly exceed the effortneeded to reach more involved families!)

159

Objectives should explicitly state whatprograms hope to achieve. Working out onehighly collaborative, effective agreementbetween the center and one essential servicemay be a realistic and therefore adequatetarget for the first year.

For example: A long-term objectivemight be tci ensure that every participantin a substance abuse program receive jobcounseling as part of the treatment plan.An initial objective might be to get anagreement between the providers of bothservices to try a pilot group of five partici-pants who would receive priority in thejob counseling program while enrolled inthe substance abuse program.


4. Designing the Program

Once goals and objectives have been deter-mined, the skeleton of the workplan is inplace. A sample workplan form is included(see Appendix D). It allows description ofspecific tasks and timelines related to thegoals and objectives defined above. Corecomponents must be addressed, along withother activities essential to the center'ssuccess. But there is much more to designinga workable center than filling out the forms.

The plans should demonstrate a clea7understanding of the PROCESS necessary toestablish an effective program. Sometimesthat process is not easily captured in quantifi-able goals, objectives, and tasks.

An innovative program which is basedon a new configuration of relationshipsamong service providers, on the marketingof a new idea to a whole community, and onsubstantial input from a newly- selectedcouncil requires a lot of time to establishitself. Relationship-building among thevarious partners in the center is just as criticalin the early stages as relationship-buildingwith the parents and students who will usethe center. Whether the specifics of suchtraining and team-building are specified in aworkplan or not, they are essential to thelong-term success of the program. Theprogram cannot work without an explicitfocus on relationship-building and time forthe relationships to become effective partner-ships. While planners will be eager to beginservices and show results quickly, it ispreferable to exercise caution about taking ontoo many things at once before the center isfirmly established.

In the last few years, collaborativeefforts have become very popular. Every-where state and local governments, as well ascommunity level coalitions, support the needfor collaborations. Most argue that, through


greater communication and coordination,public services can be made better. Experi-ence has shown, however, that collaborationinvolves more than just communication orcoordination. Communication can helppeople do their jobs better by providing morecomplete information, but does not requirejoint activities. Coordination involves jointactivities, but allows organizations andindividuals to maintair their own sets ofgoals, expectations, and responsibilities.

Collaboration among agencies requiresthe identification of shared goals to guide thecollaborators' shared actions. As a generalrule, the most successful interagency collabo-rations are effective because all of the indi-vidual members and organizations involvedare will:ng to relinquish some of their indi-vidual control and authority in order toprogress towards the greater good of chil-dren and families.

In order for collaboration to result in anew direction for the community, the plan-ning process should include all of the follow-ing elements:

jointly developing and agreeing to a setof common goals and directions;

sharing responsibility for obtainingthose goals; and

working together to achieve thosegoals, using the expertise of eachcollaborator.

A community coalition that can success-fully incorporate these elements into itsplanning process stands a good chance ofturning its members' separate values, hopes,and dreams into a single vision and direction.Understanding the nature of the collaborativeprocess is essential thrc zhout the life of thecenter for its continued success.

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Long-term planning should enumerateintermediate steps which will build on initialones over time, showing the planned devel-opment of the center. The experience ofsimilar programs in a variety of communitiesindicates that an effective program achievesstability in about three years. That meansthat first-year plans will look quite differentfrom second-year ones if the center is ontarget developmentally.

The needs/resources assessment andthe goals development process shouldprovide the basic information necessary fortaking the next step in designing the pro-gram. Two sets of questions need to beaddressed to translate the communityassessment into a specific program design.

The first set of questions addresses theissue of existing services in the community.

1)What services are available? Where arethe gaps in services?

2) What services should have a highpriority according to the needs assess-ment analysis? What services have alow priority?

3) What services could be provideddirectly by the center? What serviceswould be provided by referral?

4)How will services be provided by thecenter? Can other providers workdirectly at the center? How will servicesbe provided by referral?

The second set of questions is equallyimportant:

1)What are the demographics of the fami-lies/ youth that will be served by thecenter?

2) What is the nature of the community inwhich the centcr will be located?

3) What is the size of the budget oramount of funaing available for thecenter?

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Some examples of how answers to thesequestions can translate into program designfollow.

Community AThe local elementary school is applying

for funds for a family resource center. Thecommunity is service/resource poor. There isvery little preschool or after-school childcare,and no support and training for childcareproviders. There are very few parent trainingopportunities in the community, but theschool does have a literacy program forparents. There are adequate health careresources but access to these services isdifficult and they are therefore under-used.

The community is rural, with familiesliving some distance from each other andfrom available services. A majority of thefamilies are two-parent families living at orbelow the poverty level, and at least oneparent is not working outside the home.Families in the community experience a highrate of health problems, alcoholism, anddomestic violence. Because many of theparents of the families are not working,childcare is not deemed a high priority as aprogram component. Health care is consid-ered a high priority.

Program planners realize there is notenough funding available to finance com-pletely new services programs. Instead, theydecide to earmark $10,000 from the schoolbudget to supplement the existing parentliteracy service. The money will be used tohire a home-visitor who will work closelywith the literacy program to recruit familiesto the program; to reinforce learning experi-ences from the program during home visits;to introduce learning activities that parentsand elementary-school-age children can do athome; and to facilitate the families use ofexisting health-care services. A small part ofthe budget will also be used to establishAlcoholics Anonymous and other self-helpgroups at three commimity churches.

is Family Resource Coalition

Community BCommunity B is an economically

depressed, mid-sized town. The communityhas a well-established, effective CommunityAction Program (CAP) and because of this,health services and survival services areavailable in the community. The CAP agencyalso administers several day-care programsand a Head Start program, although all theseprograms have waiting lists. There is noschool age childcare in the community, andno programs providing parenting services.

Families in the community are workingpoor, many involved in seasonal employ-ment. Most of the families are characterizedas single-female head of households and thecommunity is experiencing an increasingnumber of teen parents. Single-parent fami-lies are always at risk due to stress, and theincreasing rate of child abuse in the commu-nity confirms this.

Pre-school childcare and school-agechildcare are high priorities because most ofthe single parents must work to support theirfamilies. Parent support to assist parents incoping with related stress and child-reaiingissues is also a high priority. Health care andother social services are a low priority be-cause they are provided by the CAP agency.

The program planners submit a requestto the state department of education for agrant of $40,000 to fund a family resourceprogram that will have two components: 1) aday-care referral and provider trainingprogram and 2) a parent resource andsupport program. Space will be provided ateither the school or the CAP agency for aresource center or library of materials thatcould be used by both day-care providersand parents groups.

The day-care referral and trainingprogram would work within the communityto establish family day-care homes includingthose for school-age children and preschool.-age children. This program would alsocoordinate and/or provide ongoing trainingand support for family day care providers as


well as day-care providers at existing daycare and I Iead Start programs. The parentresource and support program wouldprovide life management skills classes,parent support groups, family events, andparent education groups at both the family..

resource center and at day-care programsites. Close coordination is to be maintainedwith the CAP agency and cross- referrals willbe made for all families using the CAPagency and the family resource center.

Community CCommunity C is in an urban area.

While the community itself has few services,there are services scattered throughout the

ty. These services, however, are not conve-niently located or easily accessible to theresidents of Community C.

The city has a large number of pre-school childcare programs, but few school-age childcare programs. There is one parentliteracy program and a parent educationprogram run by the city. Health services andsocial services are also available. The city isalso funding and operating a successfulemployment counseling, training and place-ment program for youth, but this service islocated in and serves the residents of anothercommunity in the city.

The residents of Community C live at orbelow the poverty level. A high number offamilies in the community rely on public aidand the statistics show that many of thefamilies have a long-term dependency onpublic aid, with second and third generationsdependent on welfare. Demographics alsoindicate that the families in Community Care large, with an average of four children,and that there is an increasing rate of drugand alcohol abuse among the youth in thecommunity. All services are a high priorityfor this community.

The local high school and two elemen-tary schools submit a proposal to a commu-nity foundation for $90,003 to fund a com-bined family resource and youth services

19 13

center in Community C. The center is to belocated in a storefront that is easily accessibleto all community residents. The coxe of theprogram will be a strong information andreferral service with one full-time staffpersonto work as a family advocate. Referrals willbe made to day-care and Head Start pro-

.grams and health services in nearby commu-nities. The program planners have workedclosely with the city family services agencyand with the parent education program.These two organizations will provide parent-ing groups on-site at the family resource andyouth services center. The family seMceagency will also provide, on a small sub-contract, family crisis intervention, a teen/parent communication workshop, andcounseling at the center.

Program planners have also madearrangements with the city's employmenttraining program to allow 20 youths fromCommunity C to attend the nearest program.The planners are negotiating with the city tofund a similar program at the center inCommunity C and plan to have the programoperating within a year. A drug abuseprevention program initially funded byfederal substance abuse prevention moneywill be expanded in the high school and willreach out to elementary schools underfunding from the grant. The center will alsobe seeking additional foundation grants toopen a school-age childcare program .

Program Design Notes

In working with teens, it is especially impor-tant to find appropriate ways for both teensand their parents to feel ownership of thecenter actArities. Some activities for parentsand youth together should at least be at-tempted, but more commonly, in acknowl-edging the developmental stage of teenagers,there will be different and separate activitiesfor parents and teens.

Experienced center coordinators oftenreport that, in spite of the best and most

14

comprehensive plans, much of their time isactually taken up with managing crisesbrought to them by center participants. Indesigning a strong program, planners shouldtake this crisis management function intoaccount and make specific plans for meetingthis need. A specific plan should provide forcrisis assistance outside the center, coordina-tion with the school's plans for crisis inter-vention, and accommodation ior time thatinevitably will be spent in this way. Incommunities where crisis is a way of life formany families, there may be a temptation tooveruse the center's program for this pur-pose. Planners should keep in mind a strongbias toward preventive activities, whichshould, over time, help to alleviate the crises.

Examples of Program Models

The following are examples of school-basedintegrated services models. The first threeprograms described are state-initiated, multi-site programs. The final two are smaller,single-site programs.

The program models described hereshould be viewed as idea-generators, to beused creatively in establishing centers. Keepin mind that all the components mentionedin these program descriptions cannot possi-bly be provided on-site by the center itself.Coordination and cooperation with othercommunity resources is vital to covering allthe services that families in your communityneed. Each family resource and youthservices center should be a unique blend ofcomponents and approaches, responsive toits own community's needs and priorities.Each center will weave its own tapestry ofservices depending on location, needs of thefamilies involved, available funding, and thevision of the people shaping the program.

State of New Jersey School Based YouthServices Program (1988)

New Jersey's School Based Youth ServicesProgram (SBYSP) is the first statewide effort


in the nation to provide a comprehensivepackage of services in or near high schools.The primary focus of the SBYSP is to provideadolescents, especially those at high risk ofschool failure, with the support necessary tocomplete their education, to obtain skills thatlead to employment, and to lead mentallyand physically healthy and drug-free lives.Established in early 1988 by the Departmentof Human Resources, SBYSP attempts toeliminate the artificial boundaries betweenthe education and human services systemsand to ensure that students receive appropri-ate and responsive services. SBYSP operatesin 29 urban, rural, and suburban schooldistrict, , with at least one per 21 counties.These programs provide teenagers with a fullspectrum of services on a "one-stop shop-ping" basis.

Each site provides the following coreservices:

health care

employment counseling, training andplacement

summer and part-time job developmentdrug and alcohol abuse counseling

family crisis counseling

primary and prevention healthcare

academic counseling

referrals to health and social providers.

Other optional services include:

day care

teen parenting

vocational education

family planning

transportation

hotlines.

At the beginning of the 1991-1992 schoolyear, four programs were opened that serviceyoung students grades K-8. These sites offersimilar services in elementary and middleschools that feed into the existing 29 SBYSPsites established in secondary schools.


Connecticut Family Resource CenterProgram (1990)

Connecticut's Family Resource CenterProgram is designed to provide a compre-hensive, integrated, community-basedsystem of faMily support and child develop-ment services located in a school building.The Family Resource Center Program wasestablished in the later part of 1988, on ademonstration basis, by the Department ofHuman Resources. Originally there werethree program sitesone urban, one subur-ban and one ruraland since then, fiveadditional sites have been added. The centersare located in school buildings and benefitfrom their dose association and alliance witha well-known, highly respected, and widely-used community institution, the school.Rather than 5eing an additional burden onschool staff and administration, the centersare operated by early childhood specialists,who come to the school facilities to provideservices. Beginning with new and expectantparents, centers provide a coordinated localservice structure through which familiesaccess parenteducation, parent training,family support, infant/toddler, pre-schooland school-age childcare services, and familyday care homes.

Services include:

21

prenatal information and guidance

child development educationperiodic hearing and vision screeninghome visits

peer support groups

adult education services, such as

basic skills preparation

English as a Second Language(ESL)

- GED classes, and classes in

- family management practices

information and referral services

teen pregnancy prevention services

15

child care services

support and training services for familyday care providers.

State of Kentucky Family Resource andYouth Service Centers Program

Kentucky's Family Resource and YouthService Centerstepresent one of the nation'smost ambitious education reform initiatives.The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA)of 1990 authorized support for FamilyResource and Youth Service Centers in allelementary and high schools that have 20percent or more of their students eligible forfree or reduced-priced school lunch. TheFamily Resource and Youth Services Centersare designed to coordinate a community'ssocial and health services for students andtheir families. Although the centers providesome services directly, the majority of theirefforts are focused on accessing existingcommunity services for families. In addition,centers work closely with state agencies toidentify gaps in services and plan effectiveresponses to the gaps.

Family Resource Centers offer:

full-time preschool childcare

after-school childcare

"families in training"

parent and child educationsupport and training for childcareproviderspositive parent-child activities

Youth Service Centers provide:

health services

employment service(s)

summer and part-time job developmentfamily crisis and mental health counsel-ing

drug and alcohol abuse counselingreferrals to health and social services

transportation

recreation activities.

16

New BeginningsSan Diego, CA

New Beginnings is a multi-faceted city-wideeffort in whose major goal is to "ensure thewell-being of children and families." Thisinitiative did not begin with a school focus;even now, school-linked services are onlyone component of its program.

New Beginnings, a partnership that;pans jurisdictional and sector lines, includesboth political and professional leadership.Top executives from the county Departmentsof Social Services and Health and Probation,the San Diego City Schools, the CommunityCollege District and the city Housing Com-mission, Parks and Recreation Department,library system, and police force are involvedin the program, as well as the county's chiefadministrative officer and the city manager.

The school-linked component of NewBeginnings is a demonstration center atHamilton Elementary School, a school in anextremely challenged community. Here, theschool site is a locus of comprehensiveservice delivery.

Families from the community and stafffrom the school and from service agenciesparticipated in determining the center'sservices. Initially the center targetedHamilton's 1300 students, grades K-5, andtheir families; future plans include expansionto pre-school-age children. Basic registrationfor school now takes place at the centerrather than in the school's administrativeoffices in order to introduce all families to thecenter and its resources. The center offersparent education classes, healthcare servicessuch as immunizations and basic physicals,and information about and referral to othercommunity resources and services forfamilies. A team of family services advocatesprovides service planning, counseling, andsome direct services. The center-based staff iscomplemented by an "extended team."These team members remain in their ownagencies but are trained and ready to takereferrals from the Hamilton Center.


Probtsfield Elementary SchoolMoorhead, Minnesota

Teachers and school administrators atProbtsfield Elementary School understandthe value of a family focus and are seeking tohelp their students by helping the families.

Among Probtsfield's students areyoungsters from two nearby housingprojects. School personnel were concernedthat many of these children were performingpoorly on school work, that they and theirfamilies had needs that were not being met,and that there was little trust between thefamilies and the school. School officialsreasoned that trust could be built and thechildren's achievement improved if parentssaw the school as a source of help in solvingproblems. Probtsfield tackled this objectiveby developing an effective information andreferral capacity in the school, rather than bybringing services to the school site itself.

The school began by asking all thehuman services agencies in the communityto coy tribute information about their servicesto a resource manual for teachers. A copy ofthe manual was given to each teachermaking it much easier to use than if therewere a copy in the library onlyand theteachers received in-service training in howto identify problems and make referrals.With the help of the manual and training,teachers are now expected to explore familyneeds in parent-teacher conferences and tomake referrals as appropriate.

To increase the likelihood that thereferrals will -esult in a connection betweenthe family and an agency that can help,agencies have representatives in the schoolbuilding on the days parent-teacher confer-ences are held. Even though services beyondthe initial conversation are provided off-site,through this arrangement a parent need onlywalk across the hall (rather than travel acrosstown) to take the first step to act on theteacher's suggestion.


The last two models are paraphrased fromThe Future of Children: School-LinkedServices (Los Altos, CA: The David and LucilePackard Foundation) Vol. 2, #1Spring 1992.

Staffing

The single most . lportant decision for a newfamily resource or youth services program ishiring appropriate staff. The staff in manycases will BE the program. Staff personallyset the tone for the center, define the relation-ships with all the other partners who willprovide the services, and, most important ofall, have the most direct contact with thecenter participants. The center plan shouldgive a full job description for all staff to behired and a full listing of the qualities andqualifications that wir ,.)e looked for in hiring.

Initiating a family resource or youthservices center will require hiring a staff. Thenumber of staff will depend upon the sizeand nature of the program. Most programswill need a core of social service staff toEnsure the coordination of other communityservices.

The most important qualification for afamily resource or youth services staff is aproven capacity for building strong personalrelationships. A large portion of the job willbe similar to community organizing. Asuccessful coordinator is personally warm,caring and friendly, and is likely to haveextensive connections in the communitythrough both professional and personalcontacts. He or she should engage in publicrelations and cc . munication with a varietyof people as sec, ' nature, not as a chore tobe done grudgingly. This person is also likelyto have a reputation as a barrier-breaker,someone who can think creatively aboutsolving problems and resolving disputes inan innovative way.

The second-most-important qualifica-tion is extensive experience in working withthe types of families and children the cente-

23 17

will especially seek to serve. Staff shouldhave an attitude of respect for all families anda non-judgmental approach to assistingfamilies on their own terms. Experience indeveloping culturally competent programsfor a variety of families would be a majorplus. Anyone who has even a slight case ofthe "us and them" syndrome, dividingfamilies from professionals who serve them,should not be a program staffperson.

Other personal qualities that make goodcenter staff include a high level of initiativeand an attitude of seeking out new ideas,people, and ways of doing things. An eager-ness to learn should be accompanied byconfidence in using prior experience as abase for building new skills. This center is notthe place for a burned-out teacher, a losingfootball coach, or a staff member with whomno one wants to work. It is the place for aperson with high energy, high enthusiasm,and a willingness to go the extra mile.

Program/Service Site

Many factors will determine the loca-tion of a center site, including the spaceavailable in the community and its appropri-ateness in view of the anticipated needs ofthe center. This is a decision that cannot bemade lightly; other programs have demon-strated that the center's location and the waythe it arranges its physical environment canhave important implications.

The location of the center sends crucialmessages about the center's attitude towardthe people it serves, whether the centerplanners intend it or not. The first thing apotential center participant will know aboutthe center is its location, and first impressionis very important. It isn't everything, butovercoming a negative first impression ismuch harder than making the right one tobegin with.

18

ANI111

For example: Placing a center in an areawithin the school for programs designedfor problem students would not send amessage that this new program is in-tended to encourage participation byeveryone.

For example: Locating a center awayfrom the school could be a significant plus,especially if the school is not viewed as apositive, supportive place by many of theparents it is designed to serve, and if thelocation selected is known by parents to beaccessible and welcoming. On the otherhand, placing a center away from theschool, for example in a little-used build-ing that may be located on school propertybut far away from the rest of the schoolactivities, may send a message that thecenter and its participants are not veryimportant to the rest of the school.

The physical arrangements within thecenter are important as well. Centers shouldbe warm and welcoming places, convenientto reach and easy to drop in on for familiesand students who might not usually volun-tarily show up at a school or social serviceagency. The environment shourd be one of"ownership" by the participants as well assafety and confidentiality for sharing issuesand problems. A quiet, sterile, classroom-type setting with a staffperson in controldoes not send the messages the center isshould.


9

For example: The initial program foryouth services centers in New Jerseyrequired centers to provide recreationalactivities on-site as an inducement to teensto come in. Ping-pong tables, rock and rollposters, food, teenage clutter, and oftenloud talking and laughing were funda-mental parts of the scene.

For example: Family support centersin Maryland banned desks of any kindfrom their centers, opting instead forcomfortable sofas and chairs, shelveswith toys and books, and rugs that en-couraged parents to sit on the floor andplay with their children during parent-child activities.

The space plans for the center shouldminimally include a large space for groupactivities such as classes and workshops, asegregated area for childcare while parentsare in the center (for family resource centers),an enclosed private area where confidentialinterviews and conversations may take placewhen necessary, and some private andsecurable space for staff to keep records andplans. Keep in mind that ot all activitiesplanned by the center must take place there,but the center should include these minimalrequirements immediately and permanently.

All plans should fully describe both theplanned location of the center and the plansfor creating an appropriate physical environ-ment for the center they envision. Assistancefor the center coordinator in designing an


appropriate environment might be includedin the training section of the plans. Acquiringappropriate furnishings and equipmentshould be part of the community involve-ment and of budget plans described else-where in the plan.

Planners working to establish a centerwhich would serve more than one schooland those who choose a site away from theschool should fully describe the location andwhy it would be the most suitable for acenter. If the chosen site poses any potentialbarriers to encouraging full use of the center,they should be discussed fully, along withthe rationale for choosing that site. If asubstantial portion of center activities willtake place away from the main site, theselocatiOns and their schedules should be notedas well.

2519

5. Assuring Successful Operations

While the workplan will fully describe theplans for accomplishing each goal of eachcomponent, there are other basic aspects ofthe center's activities that are essential for itto work at all.

Information Dissemination

First impressions are vital in establishing afamily resource or youth services center asthe central point for its many activities and asa place where families and students arewelcome. The initial circulation of the mes-sage is communicated through the establish-ment of the advisory council and the needs/resources assessment, which will spread theword kout the future center and involvecommunity members in the planning pro-cess. A plan for information disseminationshould include the steps to be taken duringthe planning process to explain the center aswell as the more formal program for publi-cizing the center once it is underway.

The school is the first and primarypartner of the family resource center, and isan essential part of the center's communica-tion network. Plans for the center should beincluded in regular communication withschool personnel. Once the center is opera-tional, school personnel should receiveregular information about the center as wellas written notification of meetings, trainingsessions, institutes and special events beingscheduled.

Local publications, a grand openingevent or series of events, targeted publicity inchurches, clubs, and other organizations areother methods for reaching parents and thegeneral public with initial information aboutthe center. Once the center is operational,continued efforts should be made to keepthese same constituencies informed aboutnew center developments.

20

Information dissemination for centersinvolves much more than flyers or newspa-per articles. Once the center is operational,the quickest, most efficient method of dis-seminating information about the center isword of mouth. The challenge is to ensurethat what is going through this very_effectivegrapevine is acairate and reflective of theintentions of the center program. The advi-sory council, school personnel, and otherprofessionals in-the-know about centeractivities should be the core of the grapevine,and should be well informed about centeractivities.

What is happening in the center is thebest advertisement of all, and the initialactivities should be carefully planned to setthe tone for further activities. Arts and craftsprojects, experiences in nutrition (includingplenty of free food!), fun activities like folkdancing for the whole family (recreation anddancing for teens), health screenings, oppor-tunities for exercise, child care for parentswhile they attend center functions, andsupport and workshop groups aroundspecific needs all send the message that thecenter is open to everyone and is responsiveto the needs of its participants.

For those families who are not likely toread flyers sent home from school or aiticlesin the local newspaper, and who are not partof a network where they would hear directlyabout center happenings, more specific kindsof outreach activities have to be devised. Thefirst step is identifying who these familiesare, through comparing lists of parents whohave participated in some activity with a listof families enrolled in the school, askingschool personnel to make referrals of familiesthey have not been successful in reaching, orreceiving referrals from other agencies. Thesecond step is reaching out. The most directapproach is a simple home visit by center

?6 Family Resource Coalition

staff to welcome the family into the center,get input from them about what they wouldlike to see in the center, and assess thepossibilities for their participation. Morehome visits may be necessary. Other strate-gies could include modifications in thecenter's program, bringing some services tonon-participating families, and referrals toother agencies.

Hard-to-reach teens, as well as someolder family members, may be attracted tothe center by something other than thepromise of services. Food is always a popularroute, especially if it meets some specialcriterion important to the participant and isaccompanied by fun. Pizza or chicken or apopular dish from a particularly well-likedrestaurant is a good place to start. Well-known sports stars, music by a current band,experts on a hot topic and special eventsconnected with a partdcular date are well-established methods for attracting a crowdthat might otherwise not show up.

Training

Without adequate team-building and train-ing, a lot of chaos and frustration can sur-round the introduction of a new approach forstaff to relate to parents and children, a newway of cooperation among a variety ofprof,essionals and service providers, and anew advisory council. This is especially truein the early stages of the program. Trainingfor work in a family resource or youthservices center differs greatly from traditionaltraining that most coordinators may haveexperienced. It should include acquiringbasic knowledge about the principles offamily support and how they are put intopractice in a center, understanding the role ofa family support worker in working withfamilies, and examination of methods ofrelationship-building. Training for advisorycouncil members and other service partnersshould include building a common under-standing about how each person involved in


the work of the center will relate to the othersand to the families who participate in thecenter.

Each member of the center's staffshould be required to participate in a trainingevent that will help them gain the overallskills they need for working with familiesand plaiming and managing a center. Mem-bers of the advisory council should be offeredteam- building opportunities to develop basicskills in working together as a decision-making group.

For example: If a center chooses toinclude parent education as one of theactivities offered to families in the center,staff may need training in the particularcurriculum chosen (such as Parents as

,Teachers or Effective Black Parenting).

For example: If a center has a stronglinkage to the local parent literacy pro-gram, center staff need not be required togo through the training themselves, but itshould probably be encouraged.

If the center's plan calls for center staffto carry out particular components them-selves, additional training in that arena mayalso be necessary. If the center relies on otherprograms in the community to provide suchservices, center staff could go through atraining with the outside providers to build astrong partnership and a clear understandingof what each component offers parents.

27,21

For example: If suicide preventionbecomes an issue that should be addres-sed in a youth services center, staff wouldlikely need additional training to helpthem to respond to this emerging need.

The training plan for centers shouldalso reflect the expectation of continuingdevelopment in other aspects of the pro-gram: that training should be ongoing andshould respond to the issues and problemsthat arise as the program develops. A one-time exposure to principles or techniques isnot sufficient to maintain a high quality ofpractice in the center, nor adequate forresponding to the different needs thatemerge during the life of the center.

Center plans for training should includeadequate time and funds for initial orienta-tion, and at least one additional trainingopportunity for staff members each year.Provisions should be made to train advisorycouncil members and collaborators, includ-ing school personnel, about center services.Information on training opportunitiesthrough the National Center for CommunityEducation, Cities in Schools, the FamilyResource Coalition's Conference, and othernational organizations should be madeavailable to centers on a regular basis.

Parental Consent andConfidentialityAdvisory councils, with input from stateagencies involved, should develop consentforms and interagency confidentiality agree-ments. The advisory council should approvea parental consent form and a procedure forinsuring that parents are fully informedabout its meaning and content. These con-sent forms should not conflict with federal orstate statutes.

2822

Local staff of state agencies, withguid.mce from their state counterparts ifnecessary, should be involved in developingany agreements under which they will share'information.

Planners be aware that the content ofthe forms and the procedures used in com-municating with parents should complementthe center's intent to be a welcoming, non-stigny non-bureaucratic place.

Involving FamiliesInvolving families is what family resourceand youth services centers are all about. It isthe first priority of every center and shouldbe reflected throughout every aspect of acenter's plan. Planners should take theopportunity to look back over their plans tobe sure that they have provided for all thepossible avenues for participation by familiesin a center. "Ownership" by the families whoparticipate in a center is the ultimate goal forevery center, and plans should be made fromthe very beginning for this ownership tobecome a reality.

Families are not to be passive recipientsof services in a family resource or youthservices center; they are to be active, respon-sible participants in all aspects of the center.They should be both learners and teachers.They should be both receivers and givers ofservices. There should be opportunities forpersonal growth and development as well asopportunities to help otners. Particularattention should be given to opportunities forfamilies to have input into planning andcarrying out future center activities anddeveloping skills the will enable them totake leadership roles as the center evolves.

Minimizing Stigma

Minimizing stigma is an essential element indeveloping family resource and youthservices centers for two reasons: first, toensure an attitude of respect and dignity for

0


all families, regardless of their status or theirproblems, and second, to effectively attractfamilies to use the centers.

Centers would do well to take somelessons from business on how to appeal tocustomers. It is safe to assume that mostfamilies would be reluctant to present them-selves at the door of family resource centerunless they were in the direst of emergenciesif the center were labelled as a place forfamilies with problems. If the funding for thecenter depended on how many at-riskfamilies voluntarily used the center on aregular basis, there would be a greaterincentive to understand why families comeand why they don't and to develop thebest possible strategies for making sure that asufficient number of "customers" show up.Minimizing the stigma attached to participat-ing in a center should go a long way towardmaking sure that as many families as pos-sible, including the at-risk youth and fami-lies, use the centers regularly.

A specific plan for minimizing stigmashould not be necessary, if planners haveadhered to the basic philosophy of the familysupport movement which underlies theestablishment of family resource and youthservices programs. Such centers are open toall, and there should be activifies or servicesin the centers for every student and family;those activities should be advertised to all.Even so, it is helpful to highlight thoseaspects of the plan that will prevent stigma.This will provide an additional opportunityto be sure that nothing in the plan or in thelanguage used to describe the plan brandsthe center as a place for high-risk families orproblem children.

Opportunities for minimizing stigmaexist in every aspect of the proposal: such asincluding a very broad cross-section of thecommunity in the application process,carefully developing a rationale and missionthat emphasizes the importance of the centerto all families in the community, balancingthe program components to provide a


variety of options for families to becomeinvolved, and making an extraordinary effortto communicate tlie universality of theprogram through community outreach.

Some very successful programs haveminimized stigma by emphasizing fun, trust-building activities to attract and involve asmany different families as possible in theinitial stages of the program. Later, when theprogram was well-established with a reputa-tion as the welcoming place it wanted to be,they used a more targeted outreach forharder-to-reach families.

29 23

6. Clarifying the Oversight Process

The advisory council 's role must be clearlydefined during the planning process.

Advisory Council Role

The description of the advisorycouncil's role should include suggestedmeeting schedules, possible activities of thecouncil, and a clear distinction betweendecisions that are the responsibility of the .

council and those that will be left to staff.Following the usual rules for board roles, thecouncil should make overall plans and serpolicy for the center and leave programimplementation decisions to the staff. Animportant role this representative councilplays is that of being the eyes and ears of theprogram in the community and among theparticipants and partners in the center. Thecoundl's job description should reflect howtheir input will be regularly and effectivelyutilized in program operations.

Recommending the coordinator ordirector to be hired by the center is a way ofassuring the council's continued primary rolein advising the center. There are a variety ofpossibilities for sharing responsibility forstaff hiring (with the council making the finalrecommendation):

recruitment by a search committeewhich includes members of the advi-sory council;

recruitment by the school district andpresentation of more than one ap-proved candidate to the council for finalchoice for recommendation;

recruitment by the advisory councilwith presentation of more than oneapprovee candidate to the school boardfor final decision;

other options developed by the council.

3024

The first step is to establish the numberof council members and the number ofrepresentatives from each category to beselected.

Parents on the council should representthe largest group (one-third). Eventually,they should represent the parents whoparticipate in the center and be chosen by theparticipants. Before the center is operational,another selection method will have to beused. Options to be considered include:

appointments by the school principal(s;

* appointments by existing school orcommunity parent organizations;solicitation of recommendations from avariety of community agencies,churches, and organizations, thenselecting members by random drawing;a combination of :hese options (orothers). For example, two selected bythe principal, four from parent organi-zations, and three by random drawing.

A minimum of two youths should serveon the youth services center advisory council.Youth representatives to the advisory councilshould eventually come from center partici-pants. Options for initial selection include:

representatives chosen by the principalsor student councils;recommendation by teachers andothers in contact with youth, thenselected by random drawing.

School staff representatives to thecouncil (not more than one- third) could beselected by the principal or by electionamong staff or a combination of these two.School district employees who representspecific programs of interest to the centermay also be included, and this participationshould be taken into consideration when


establishing the number of members and thespecific categories to be represented.

Community representatives can beselected according to the interests theyrepresent, to be established at the outsetwhen the total number of members andcategories of members are set. For example,based on the needs/resources assessment, itmay be determined that the center councilshould include a juvenile court officer, arepresentative from the public health depart-ment, and the pres:, ient of the local day-careproviders associatk 1. Other options mightinclude members appointed by United Way,by the Urban League, by the Mayor, by thelocal Private Induthy Council, by the localconsortium of service providers, or by otherimportant local organizations or groups.

In thinking about terms of office,consideration should be given to the intensework that will be required in the first stagesof the program as well as to the value ofcontinuity on the Council during that time.One solution might be to establish two-yearterms of office, and have half the originalcouncil serve a one-year term followed by atwo-year term while the other half serves aregular two-year term. This would ensure .

continuity and would begin the staggeredterms of office the council should probablyhave. In staggering the terms, care should betaken to maintain the appropriate balance ofrepresentation among required categories.

Relationships with Local Boardof Education or Other School-Based Council

Planners should attempt to enlist thesupport of the local board of education. Theymight be asked to approve and thus endorsethe plans for the center, including its gover-nance and the council's role in recommend-ing the center coordinator or director, whomight even be technically an employee of thelocal school district.


If the school district is to be involved inthis capacity, the description of their relation-ship to the center should specify the processto be followed in recruiting and hiring thecenter coordinator or director and the respec-tive roles of the school district and the coun-cil, provisions for regular reporting of centeractivities, and for participation in subsequentplanning for the center and in other decisionsthat may be made by the council. Representa-tives of the board of education should workwith the advisory council to develop therelationship description. It may be helpful toinitiate this relationship after the role of thecouncil is defined and after the council hasmade recommendations on the process ofhiring staff.

One effective way of keeping communi-cation open between the groups would be toappoint a member of the school board toserve as an ad hoc member of the advisorycouncil, invited to attend meetings andevents connected to the center and to serve asa liaison.

Local Written Agreements

Center planners should obtain localwritten agreements, assurances of collabora-tion, both financial and non-financial. Thesecollaborative relationships are essential to thework of the center and to the development ofits budget. At one level, written agreementsformalize the partnerships that have beendeveloped between the center and otheragencies who have agreed to directly contrib-ute funds to the work of the center, to pro-vide services to families referred to them bythe center, to loan staff to the center, toprovide services at the center site in conjunG-tion with center staff, or to contribute otherin-kind services or goods of value.

At another level, these local agreements-)nfirm for the state or other funding sources

that the agencies and programs expected tocooperate with the centers are doing so.

3125

7. Thinking about the Budget

Following the design of the family resource/youth services center, planners must developa strategy for providing its services. Morethan likely, the center will have a role inbrokering three types of services to children,youth and families:

1) services that are already adequatelyavailable for most families,

2) services that are inadequately availableand which the center will providedirectly,

3) services that may or may not beadequately available and must bepurchased by either the center orindividuals.

When the desired service is adequate inthe community and there are no majorbarriers (i.e., services are not expensive orexclusive), the center should make a referralagreement with the service provider. Thisagreement is not meant to reserve slots forcenter participants, but rather to ensure that areferral by the center results in the family orindiviCtual obtaining the appropriate servicesin a timely fashion.

For example: A parent or youth partici-pating in a center may be interested inobtaining employment services not avail-able at the center. In such a case, the centerwould need a pre-arranged referralprocess or the ability to arrange forservices to be regularly provided on-site.Most states and municipalities providethese services at little or no cost to theindividual, so this would not be a difficultprocess for a center to develop.

When the appropriate service is notavailable or an insufficient quantity is avail-able, the center must decide whether toprovide the services directly through thecenter or to work with an outside provider toimprove its availability. It must be deter-mined whether the center could physicallyhouse the services and whether the center'sfunds are best spent on the purchase of theseservices. The services most easily provideddirectly by the center are those which requirelarger amounts of physical space, have fewcapital costs, and demand less professionalstaff. For example, after-school programs andparent-child interaction classes.would fallinto this category.

The third type of services that may beneeded are ones that would be costly toprovide on-site at the center or to purchasefrom local providers. For this type of service,the applicants must determine how manyparticipants are likely to need them andwhether they are able to pay for the services.In situations where participants are able Idwilling to pay a user fee, the center can act asa broker to obtain the service at the lowestprice. In situations where participants cannotafford to pay for the services, center organiz-ers have two options: to spend their limitedresources on the purchase of the desiredservice or to forego the service immediatelyin hopes of making a case for private orpublic funds sometime in the future.

Of course, all forms of serviCes andways of funding them cannot be fully treatedin this section. We suggest that you use it asa general framework for developing afinancial and service delivery strategy, ratherthan as a complete formula for planning acenter's budget.


Public and Private Resources

The community resources assessmentinitially conducted for planning should havediscovered a few possibilities for privately-provided resources Seeking funding fromthese community resources is one way tohelp finance center activities, and one shouldalso consider approaching them for valuablenon-financial contributions .

Space, equipment, furnishings, servicessuch as printing, and other in-kind contribu-tions are often available from businesses,churches, or community-service agencies.These resources should be fully utilizedbefore considering using funds to purchasethem. These partnerships create relation-ships that will benefit the center over time.

Many private institutions offer opportu-nities for families and youth to participate inrecreation, workshops and other activities.These should be known to the center, andinformation about them should be madeavailable to center participants . Some privateinstitutions will also be willing to provideadditional activities and assistance needed bylocal families and youth if the center makesthe need for such activities known to them.One of the center's functions is as a commu-nity clearinghouse for resources for youthand families. Another is to encourage anddevelop new resources as they are needed.

Occasionally; staff resources for thecenter, both paid and volunteer, may beavailable from churches, community organi-zations, universities, and other privateagencies in the community. These individu-als should be thoroughly checked out priorto*making agreements for families to bereferred to them or for families to come intocontact with them in a center setting. Failureto do so can potentially damage the center'scredibility with families and undercut anotherwise well-devised program.

An additional cautionary note in usingthese resources in the center is that it must beascertained that the center staff has the

capacity to train and supervise these addi-tional staff resources before making arrange-ments to work them into the program.Taking on inexperienced staff, with whatevergood intentions, can be disastrous if supportfor them iE not readily available.

In terms of public funding, both thefederal government and state governmentsare looking for new ways to develop humanservices strategies with a strong emphasis onthe integration of services and redirection ofexisting resources. The trend is towardflexibility, with government giving localjurisdictions the authority to set priorities onhow public funds are to be spent in provid-ing social services.

In The Future of Children: School-LinkedServices, authors Farrow and Joe point outthe challenge of making existing expendi-tures for services more cost-effective. "Withthis challenge comes the need for new skillsand new commitments within a community.Pulling together the needed funding sourcesis neither simple nor a short-term venture. Itrequires detailed and extensive knowledge ofhow money is now spent and of the rulesthat govern the spending. It requires creativ-ity in combining previously separate fundingsources to achieve a new collaborative goal. Itrequires political skills in making the case forsuch new financing arrangements. Most ofall, it requires agreement among a greatmany parties that funding sources are.goingto be assembled in these new ways."A center's objectives and workplan shouldprovide for data collection and a well-planned periodic analysis of program resultsto allow for growth and change once theprogram is operational. Evaluation should bea continuous process and changes in theprogram should not wait until a year-endevaluation confirms tha t something is notworking as it should. Funding in subsequentyears will be dependent on evaluationresults, evidence of insightful analysis ofstrengths and weaknesses, and effectiveaction taken in response to emerging issues.

33 27Creating New Schools

8. Evaluation Strategies

In planning for an appropriate evaluation ofthe mission and goals of an individual centerand the data collection required to accom-plish it, care should be taken to respect andpreserve the privacy of center participants asmuch as possible. Forms which ask questionslike income levels, health status, or otherconfidential information should be usedcarefully, perhaps not until the family orstudent has come to the center more thanonce (unless the family is in need of immedi-ate service that requires the information to betaken). The centers are designed to be as freeof intrusions and stigmatizing experiences aspossible, and data collection efforts shouldreflect that philosophy. Staff should betrained carefully in using the required formsand collecting any other information used bythe center. The data collection process shouldbe done in such a way that families are fullyaware of how the information will be usedand are not threatened by the experience.

Year-End Evaluation

A year-end evaluation has two main pur-poses: to measure results of the year just pastand to plan for the coming year. It requiresnot only collecting information throughoutthe year that will be useful in determiningwhat happened, but also revisiting theoriginal needs/resource assessment andobjectives to see if they need updating inview of the experience of the first year.

Data Collection for Evaluation

The measurable objectives stated early in theplanning process give a beginning guide todata to be collected. For example, if a statedobjective is: have fifteen low-achieving

28

students participate in a tutorial/mentoractivity once a week for twelve weeks, thedata that should be collected to measureresults is clear. You must have some methodof keeping track of how many studentsparticipated each week. Possibilities includehaving students sign in when they come forthe activity or taking attendance during theactivity, with the attendance record overtwelve weeks time kept in the center. Infor-mation on activities and services providedoff-site should be maintained in the center aswell as in the off-site location. Arrangementsfor data collection should be part of eachagreement with other service providers.

In addition to specific activity numbers,information should be kept on center partici-pants overall to give a clear idea of theprograms' general impact. How manyindividuals came to a center activity? Howmany families? How many times?Unduplicated numbers are more difficult toobtain, but are essential to assessing overallcommunity impact. Although cumbersome,data should be kept by individual record aswell as by family record, with informationcross-referenced if possible. Data collectionshould be carefully planned and vigilantlypursued by staff for each activity. It may behelpful to write data collection tasks into jobdescriptions and workplans to be sure thatthe tasks are anticipated and completed.

A critical measure of success for afamily resource or youth services program isthe satisfaction of participants. Number ofparticipants is one way to assess satisfactionin a voluntary program: people simply donot come when they do not benefit fromwhat is going on. Programs may need morerefined information than simple attendancenumbers to gauge how the program could bebetter. Pei Iodic suiveys of participant re-


sponse, and likes and dislikes for each centeractivity will give useful evidence of how wellthe program is being received and sugges-tions for how it can improve.

Revisiting Last Year's Plan

In the course of the year, information shouldbe collected by the center to update the needsassessment to reflect the experience of thefamilies and students they are serving. Forexample, case studies could be kept on arandom sample of families or youth, fullydescribing the assets and issues of that familyor student and the ways in which they wereserved, not only by the center, but by othercommunity resources as well. A review ofthe case studies at the end of the year wouldreveal gaps in service or point to issues theoriginal needs assessment may have missed.

Surveys or interviews similar to thoseused in the original planning could also beused to gather information about centerparticipants' needs. Comparing the firstyear's participants to the community at largecould reveal several things: whether thecenter is serving those whom it intended toserve, whether the services need to beadjusted according to new information aboutneeds, and whether the right combination ofother resources outside the center has beendevised for the needs expressed by partici-pants.

Once the outcomes listed in the originalworkplan have been evaluated and newinformation about needs and resources hasbeen gathered, an analysis of the original.plan in light of current information must beconducted. Objectives which were success-fully met should be evaluated along withthose that were more troublesome. Why wasit easy to accomplish some? What overallstrengths in the program do the successespoint to? Which less-successful aspects ofimplementation should be changed orrepeated?


For objectives that were not met, thequestions are sometimes easier: Why not?What were the weaknesses in implementa-tion? Were the plans overambitious? Didthey miss the mark with intended partici-pants? Are these objectives really as relevantto the program as they seemed to be in thebeginning? Are there strengths in other areasthat can be translated to these more difficultones? What can we do to correct the plan fornext year?

3529

Some Final Thoughts

Family resource and youth services centers promise new possibilities forschools and communities. They have the potential to bring together all theavailable resources in a communityparents, schools, businesses, privateinstitutions and public servicesto support the success of every child.The vision behind these programs affirms the uniqueness of every com-munity and the dignity of every family, taking great care to preserve the

. right of each community to establish its own mission and purpose.As is true with every human endeavor, the success of a program

depends on the human beings who work in it and for it. It depends ontheir willingness to trust each other, to try something new, to look atissues and problems with new eyes, to give-and-take and listen to oneanother, and to find new ways of working together.


1>-*APPENDIX A

0.

Premises, Principles, and Practices ofFamily Resource Programs

PremisesAs new points of departure for thinking'about families and society, the premisesthat underlie the family resource concept are nonetheless values that most people ofall political preferences share. These premises erase the barriers between liberal andconservative approaches and between families and governments. By focusing onthe promise of self-sufficiency in families, they allay conservative fears that publicprograms will create dependency. Likewise, by providing support to families toenhance effective functioning, they allay liberal concerns over the lack of publicefforts to benefit families. "These programs create a middle ground where conserva-tives and liberals can join together to support programs designed to strengthenfamilies and communities" (Weiss, 1989b, p.36). Five premises which underliefamily resource programs are:

1. Primary responsibility for the development and well-being of children lieswithin the family. During the 1970s, there was concern that if families weregiven support through institutions, nonfamilial agencies would assume toomuch responsibility for childrearing. Today there is non-partisan recognitionthat families want to retain full responsibility for childrearing, and want accessto necessaiy resources and support.

2. The cornerstone of a healthy society is the well-being of its families. Dysfunc-tional families jeopardize the development of future generations of adults,ultimately placing our Society at risk.

3. Families exist as part of an ecological system. Children cannot be seen asseparate from their families, nor families separate from their communities orfrom the greater society. Decisions made on behalf of children must integrateand acknowledge their inter-connectedness to the social-ecological system inwhich they live, making the concept of "saving" a child from his or her envi-ronment appropriate only in extreme circumstances.

4. Our society, its communities, institutions, and governments at all levels mustassist, not hinder, the capacity of families to raise children. The systems andinstitutions upon which families rely must effectively respond to their needs iffamilies are to establish and maintain environments that promote growth anddevelopment. Systems must be continually evaluated, modified, and coordi-nated to increase and insure their effectiveness (Garbarino, 1982).

Creating New Schools 37 31

5. Families that receive adequate supportare more capable of supporting them-selves. It is a myth that any family can"do it alone". Rather, it is through theinter-dependence of people and be-tween people and institutions such asschools, hospitals, and social servicesthat family independence is fostered(Keniston & The Carnegie Council onChildren, 1977).

PrinciplesThe above premises underlie the principlesupon which family resource programs arebased. These principles, which are describedbelow, serve as guidelines for programdevelopment and as a blueprint forreorienting more traditional services forfamilies:

1. The most effective approach to familiesis based in a positive perspective ofhealth and well-being. An approachthat builds upon strengths and solu-tions instead of dwelling and ever-changing stage of life, parenthood isshaped by relationships, life experi-ences, and knowledge (Benedek, 1970).Parents' sense of confidence and com-petence emerges out of these dynamics,influencing who they are as people andhow they raise their children (Unger &Wandersman cited in Littell, 1985).

3. Childrearing techniques and values areinfluenced by cultural and communitysolve,values and mores. Effectiveinvolvement with families demands anunderstanding of and appropriateresponsiveness to cultural, individual,and community traditions and values(Spiegel, 1982).

4. Social support networks are essential tofamily well-bcing. Social supportnetworks provide parents with the

32

concrete and psychological resourcesthey need in order not to becomeoverwhelmed by their responsibilities(Gottlieb, 1983, 1988).

5. Information about child developmentenhances parents' capacity to respondappropriately to their children. In-formed parents are better equipped toproblem- more confident of their deci-sions, and more likely to respondsensitively to their children's develop-mental needs (Wandersman, 1987).

6. Families who receive support areempowered to advocate on their ownbehalf. As an outgrowth of their in-

:

creased sense of confidence and capabil-ity, parents who receive support beginto view themselves as able to act ontheir own behalf as individuals and asmembers of a constituency (Pizzo, 1987).

7. Programs for families are most effectivewhen participation is voluntary. Parentswho are voluntarily involved in pro-grams are more likely to feel in controlof their lives and to be more receptive tochange (Zigler & Berman; Valentine &Stark; Fein cited in Powell, 1988).

Qualities of Effective FamilyResource Programs andProgram Components

In creating and evaluating familysupport programs that work, the codeword isdiversity. There are as many variations ofprevention programs for families as there areprograms. Programs vary in terms of thepopulations they target, the settings in whichthey exist, and the range of programmingthey provide.

In spite of this breadth and variety,however, effective programs are character-ized by a number of key elements. Suchprograi ns:


Incorporate a var!zi.y of educationalexperiences for parents, offering oppor-tunities for them to increase theirknowledge and understanding, exam-ine their habitual.ways of thinking anddoing things, make positive changes.

Meet parents "where they are." Themost effective programs are plannedwith the involvement of the parentsthemselves to assure that they arerelevant to their specific interests,concerns and needs. Program strategiesmay span from very structured parenteducation classes to self-help andsupport groups, to home visiting, toparent-child activities, to broad-basedprint or media campaigns.

Utilize a "building on strengths"approach: a perspective that assumesthat all families have strengths that canbe utili7ed as building blocks forgrnwth and improvement. They shun a"deficit" approach, which focuses ondeficiencies and problems.

Acknowledge and address the contextin which families exist, appreciating andvaluing each family's community andculture, and individual traditions,values and lifestyles. As much aspossible, staff members are representa-tive of the population being served bythe program. When this is not possible,a "mentor", a representative of thecommunity being served, is included inall planning and decisionmaking. Thisindividual shares insights into theculture, traditions, interests and valuesof the families, assuring that the pro-gram offered is relevant and sensitive totheir interests, lifestyles and needs.

Provide information and support inways that offer parents alternatives:widening their choices, exploring theiroptions, supporting their potential forchange rather than dictating "answers"and solutions.

Cwatiug New Schools

Treat parents as partners, appreciatingthe value, role, challenges and satisfac-tions of parenthood, as opposed tooperating from an orientation thatchildren must be "rescued" from theharmful effects of their families.

.Balance the need parents have to gaininformation and skills with the needthey have to receive attention, care andsupport.

Are responsive to the practical needs ofparents who participate. These pro-grams provide childcare during groupmeetings, scholarships when theprogram charges fees, transportation asneeded, and convenient meetinglocations, for example.

Clearly communicate to parents theroles of staff members, volunteers andparents, and the program's goals andphilosophy.

Incorporats outreach efforts to recruitfamilies into the program, to inform thecommunity of its existence, and topromote collaboration with otheragencies, services and organizations.

Promote relationships between staffmembers and parents ch lracterized bywarmth, responsiveness and compas-sion. In addition, staff members areskillful in relating to both individualsand groups.

Establish networks of referral andcollaboration/coordination with otherresources, services and institutions thatserve families. Staff members workfrom an understanding that parentresource programs are not a panacea forall the needs of families or of society.

3933

APPENDIX B

Goals

Family Resource Centers:

To promote the healthy growth and development of children byassisting families to identify and address any home or communitybarriers to a child's success in schoolTo assist families to develop parenting skills that can promote theoptimal development of children;To ensure that families have access to and are connected with appro-priate community resources and receive from those resources thehelp that they need;To encourage social support linkages and networks among families,thereby reducing isolation and promoting family involvement incommunity activities;To generate optimal parental and family involvement by offeringlearning and service opportunities that will enable parents and otherfamily members to participate in center and community activities asproviders, participants and volunteers.

Youth Services Centers:

To promote young people's progress toward capable and productiveadulthood by assisting them to recognize their individual and familystrengths and to address problems that block their success in school;

To assist young people to make effective use of community re-sources, including employment and training resources as necessary;

To promote supportive peer group relationships among youngpeople, and supportive relationships among young people, theirfamilies, and persons in the community, in order to develop positiveself esteem and competencies; and,To generate optimal parental and family involvement by offeringlearning and service opportunities to enable parents and other familymembers to participate in center and community activities as provid-ers, participants, and volunteers.


'11*\/ APPENDIX C

Selected Bibliography

The following publications provide two kinds of information: on how tocreate effective family services programs; and on how to engage publicpolicy, planning, and funding to develop and support family programswith strong frontline components.

Bredekamp, Sue (ed.) Developmentally Appropriate Practice in EarlyChildhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8: Ex-panded Edition, (Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Educa-tion of Young Children) 1987.This publication provides the NAEYC position statement on developmen-tallyappropriate practice in early childhood programs as well morespecific practice guidelines for children from birth through age three.NAEYC statements are considered to represent the best practice-orientedpositions on how to to aid in young children's development.

Bruner, Charles. Thinking Collaboratively: Ten Questions and Answersto Help Policy Makers Improve Children's Services, (Washington, D.C.:Education and Human Services Consortium) 1991.This guide asserts that "children bring more than educational needs iiicothe classroom" and that strategies to serve children must involve health,education, and human services agencies. It then provides a set of ques-tions to address in developing cross-agency planning groups, in imple-menting local demonstration projects, and in seeking to expand successfuldemonstration initiatives statewide.

Bruner, Charles. Improving Maternal and Child Health: A Legislator'sGuide, (Des Moines, IA: Child and Family Policy Center) 1990.This guide outlines a number of state programs to improve maternal andchild health, including federal program options available to provide morecomprehensive services to support child well-being, broadly defined.

Creating New Schools 35

Bruner, Charles. Frontline Family Workers:The Role of the Family Development Spe-cialist, (Des Moines, IA: Child and FamilyPolicy Center) August, 1991.This monograph outlines the work of front-line family workers in exemplary familysupport and education programs and theinstitutional supports that are necessary tomake their work effective. It draws a deardistinction between the tasks of these front-line family workers and what typically goesunder the name of "case management."

Center for the Future of Children. TheFuture of Children: School-Linked Services(Los Altos, CA: David and Lucile PackardFoundation) Vol. 2, #1Spring 1992.This issue provides an overview of thecomplex proposal for schools to play asignificantly increased role in the coordina-tion and/or provision of health and socialservices to children and their families. Thepublication handles the proposal frommultiple perspectives and is accessible to abroad readership.

Center for the Study of Social Policy.Helping Families Grow Strong: New Direc-tions in Public Policy, (Chicago: Papersfrom the Colloquium on Public Policy andFamily Support of the Family ResourceCoalition) April, 1990.This collection of commissioned papersrepresents a source book on family supportand education programs and their integra-tion into public policy. It includes descrip-tions of a number of state initiatives. Authorsof the papers include Frank Farrow, TerriGrant, Judy Meltzer, Charles Bruner,Heather Weiss, Robert Halpern, and GailChristopher. Incorporates discussions ofmoving from grass roots to state policy,legislating family support and education,and evaluating state family support andeducation initiatives.

36

Chynoweth, Judith K. and Barbara Dyer.Strengthening Families, (Washington, D.C.:Council of Governors' Policy Advisors)1991.This volume, designed for use with stateteams in the Policy Academy for Familiesproject, provides a means for assessing thewell-being of families and for structuring andcoordinating services in a way which iscommunity-based and responsive to familyneeds. A total of fifteen state teams, com-posed of leaders in education, human ser-vices, state legislatures, and the broadercoMmunity have participated in or areparticipating in the Policy Academy forFamilies, which is designed to redirect statepolicies in those states to be more family-focused.

Committee for Economic Development. TheUnfinished Agenda: A New Vision for ChildDevelopment and Education, (New York:Statement of the Research and PolicyCommittee of the Committee for EconomicDevelopment) 1990.This statement, by a committee of corporateand education leaders, emphasizes the needfor developing a comprehensive and coordi-nated system of child development andeducation that supports families of veryyoung children. Cited in the report as exem-plary initiatives are Albuquerque's NewFutures School, Missouri's Parents as Teach-ers program, the Keenan Trust FamilyLiteracy Project, the Chicago BeethovenProject, and the Cities in Schools projects.

Dunst, Carl, Carol Trivette and AngelaDeal. Enabling and Empowering Families:Principles and Guidelines for Practice,(Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books) 1988.Based on several years of intensive researchon a comprehensive family-supportiveprogram, this book outlines the basic ele-ments of practice needed to insure holisticfamily development.


Family Resource Coalition. A FamilyCentered Perspective: FRC REPORT, (Chi-cago: Family Resource Coalition) Vol. IX,#3-1990.This issue of the FRC quarterly journalcontains several articles and examples ofprograms which illustrate a family-centeredperspective in action. Resources are listed foreach.

Family Resource Coalition. Building on theStrengths of Communities:FRC REPORT,(Chicago: Family Resource Coalition) Vol.IX, #2-1990.This issue of the FRC quarterly centers on thetheme of communities and families, withexamples of how communities can supportfamilies and of the importance of communitysupport for families toward the goal ofimproved outcomes for children.

Family Resource Coalition. Building Parent-School Partnerships: FRC REPORT, (Chi-cago: Family Resource Coalition) Vol. VIII#2-1989.This issue explores the role of family-sup-portive programs in developing strongpartnerships between schools and parents.Examples and additional resources areincluded.

Fenichel, Emily S. and Linda Eggbeer.Preparing Practitioners to Work withInfants, Toddlers, and Their Families: Issuesand Recommendations for the Professions,(Arlington, VA: Prepared in collaborationwith the TASK Advisory Board. NationalCenter for Clinical Infant Programs) 1990.This publication outlines specific criteria fortraining workers to work with very youngchildren and their families, based on currentresearch in the field and on the experience ofnationally known authorities in the field.

0


Goetz, Kathryn, (ed.). Programs toStrengthen Families: A Resource Guide,Third Edition, (Chicago: Family ResourceCoalition) 1992. This guide includes descrip-tions of a wide variety of examples of com-munity-based family support programs,grouped under the following headings:comprehensive and collaborative programs,school-linked or school-based programs,programs to enhance family functioning, andprograms with a family support component.History, budgets and funding streams,populations served, staffing patterns, andcommunity linkages are included for

Kagan, Sharon L., Doug Powell, BerniceWeissbourd, and Ed Zigler, (eds.). America'sFamily Support Programs: Perspectives andProspects, (New Haven: Yale UniversityPress) 1987.A complete prhner on all aspects of familysupport programs, featuring chapters byleaders in the field, from history throughstaffing and program development to policy.

Kagan, Sharon L., Ann Rivera, and FaithLamb Parker. Collaborations in Action:Reshaping Services for Young Children andTheir Families, (New Haven: The BushCenter in Child Development and SocialPolicy, Yale University) 1990.This is a critical review of a number ofpartnerships and collaborations betweeneducation, health, and human servicesdesigned to provide more effective servicesfor young children and their families. Itidentifies elements conducive to the successof such initiatives.

4337

Kagan, Sharon L. Policy Perspectives:Excellence in Early Childhood Education:Defining Characteristics and Next-DecadeStrategies, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Depart-ment of Education, Office of EducationResearch and Improvement, U.S. Govern-ment Printing Office) July, 1990.This work describes American early child-hood education as on the verge of a majorshift in the conception and definition of itsmissiontoward linking care with educa-tion and discusses the implications of thisshift for public policy.

Kagan, Sharon L. United We Stand: Col-laboration for Childcare and Early Educa-tion Services, (New York: Teachers CollegePress) 1991.Kagan's latest work defines essential ele-ments of collaboration necessary for creatinga unified, child-centered system of earlychildhood services to produce the bestpossible outcomes for all children.

Littell, Julia H. Building Strong Founda-tions: Evaluation Strategies for FamilyResource Programs, (Chicago: FamilyResource Coalition) 1986.This manual outlines evaluation techniquesfor improving the operation of programs;includes sample tracking and intake formsand criteria for appropriate use in familysupport settings.

National Association of State Boards ofEducation. Caring Communities: SupportingYoung Children and Families, (Washington,D.C.: report of the National Task Force onSchool Readiness) 1991.The National School Readiness Task Force,chaired by Gov. Bill Clinton, was convenedto critically examine the first national educa-tion goal, "By the year 2000, all children inAmerica will start school ready to learn." Theresulting report describes the need to providecomprehensive, community-based servicesto families of young children, beginningduring the prenatal period.

38

National Education Goals Panel. The Na-tional Education Goals Report: Building aNation of Learners, (Washington, D.C.:National Education Goals Panel) 1991.This report suggests a series of indicators tomeasure progress in meeting all six nationaleducation goals as well as related state-by-state information.

National Governors' Association. Focus onthe First Sixty Months: A Handbook ofPromising Prevention Programs for ChildrenZero to Five Years of Age, (Washington,D.C.: The National Governors'Association's Committee on Human Re-sources and the Center for Policy Research)1987.This handbook describes nineteen differentstate initiatives of "promising preventionprograms" for children age birth throughfive. Included are health-related, education-related, and child welfare-related initiatives.

Pooley, Lynn and Julia H. Littell. FamilyResource Program Builder: Blueprints forDesigning and Operating Programs forParents, (Chicago: Family Resource Coali-tion) 1986. This manual describes familysupport and education program and pro-gram principles, and offers advice to practi-tioners on establishing programs in theircommunities.

Powell, Douglas R. Families and EarlyChildhood Programs (Washington, D.C.:National Association for the Education ofYoung Children) 1989.

Riverside County Health Services Agency.Fixing the System, video (Riverside, CA:Riverside County Health Services Agency)1992.This video is about Riverside County'sinteragency approach to children's services.The program focuses on 1) schools as adelivery point for social and public healthservias, 2) the role of the interdisciplinary

4 4Family Resource Coalition

case manager as a key link between diversepublic agencies and their shared clients, and3) the importance of designing flexibleprograms that serve the whole child andfamily. The video is an effective tool forpromoting interagency collaboration at allorganizational levels, from elected officials toagency management to field staff.

Romig, Candace (ed.) Family Policy: Rec-ommendations for State Action, (Denver:Children, Families, and Social ServicesCommittee: National Conference of StateLegislatures) December, 1989.This volume describes current federal andstate policy, identifies selected state initia-tives, and makes recommendations for statelegislative action. Among the chapters ofparticular pertinence to young children are'Parent Education for Parents with Childrenfrom Birth to Three," "Families Who ProvideCare at Home to Children with Disabilities,"and "State Innovations in Children's andFamily Services Collaboration and Financ-

Schorr, Lisbeth, Deborah Both, and CarolCopple (eds.) Effective Services for YoungChildren: Report of a Workshop, (Washing-ton, D.C.: National Academy Press) 1991.This volume presents a series of commis-sioned papers from a workshop on identify-ing the attributes of effective services foryoung children in at-risk families and thepublic policies, including state financingstrategies, needed to support such services.Schorr's introductory paper describes theattributes of effective services for youngchildren and is an extension of her widely-praised book, Within Our Reach: Breaking theCycle of Disadvantage (New York: AnchorPress) 1988, which includes case studies of anumber of exemplary programs for children.


Smith, Sheila, Susan Blank, and James T.Bond. One Program, Two Generations: AReport of the Forum on Children and theFamily Support Act, (New York: Founda-tion for Child Development and NationalCenter for Children in Poverty) 1990.This volume forcefully articulates the need tofocus attention on child development as apart of any welfare-to-work reform initia-tives.

Unger, Donald, and Douglas Powell (eds.)Families as Nurturing Systems: SupportAcross the Life Span, (New York: TheHawthorth Press) 1991.This volume provides a practice-based and apolicy-based analysis of family support andeducation programs and their connection tochanging family dynamics.

Weiss, Heather. Pioneering States: Innova-tive Family Support and Education Pro-grams, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard FamilyResearch Project) 1988.This guide describes five state initiatives,including their legislative histories, scope ofactivities, and reflections from key programdevelopers. The five initiatives areConnecticut's Parent Education SupportCenters, Kentucky's Parent and ChildEducation (PACE) program, Maryland'sFamily Support Centers, Minnesota's EarlyChildhood Family Education program, andMissouri's Parents as Teachers program.

Weiss, Heather. Innovative States: EmergingFamily Support and Education Programs(Harvard Family Research Project Cam-bridge, MA: 1989).This guide is a companion volume to Pio-neering States and describes five additionalstate initiatives, including Iowa's familydevelopment grant program.

4 539

Weiss, Heather and Robert Halpern. Com-munity-Based Family Support and Educa-tion Programs: Something Old or SomethingNew?, (New York: National Center forChildren in Poverty, Columbia University)1991.This work provides a history of familysupport and education programs from thenineteenth century on, describes the founda-tions of current practice, and explores policy,program, and research issues for the future.

Weiss, Heather B. and Francine Jacobs (eds.)Evaluating Family Programs, (New York:Aldine De Gruyter) 1988.This volume provides case study evaluationsof a number of family support and educationprograms, discusses the state of knowledgeabout family support and education pro-gram effectiveness, and examines method-ological issues of measuring child and familyoutcomes and determining program effec-tiveness. It is considered the best referencework on the evaluation of family programs.

4 640 Family Resource Coalition

4 APPENDIX D

Workplan

Needs Statement:

Goal:

Objective:

Proposed Outcome:

Tasks:

Timeline:

Objective:

Proposed Outcome:

Tasks:

Timeline:

(Copy this page to accommodate all your objectives.)

e 47 41Creating New Schools

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